But... You're Married? Why Are You Going Alone?

Yep, I'm married (happily thanks very much) and I have a lovely little rock on my finger to prove it. The last time I checked, this wasn't the fifties (or something similar) and women were allowed to go off and do stuff on their own...

I'm off to Kenya next week (hopefully, I'm on a standby flight) and without fail every single person I've told has asked the question 'Is Josh going too?'.

Hey Josh! Watcha doin'?

Now, I KNOW I'm completely irrational a bit uptight about some things, but it's hugely important for me to retain a sense of self - whatever the heck that means, I know what I'm trying to say. I never really thought of myself as independent - until I got married. I KNOW, I'M WEIRD. All of a sudden it was really important for me not to be 'a stereotypical wife' in the traditional sense and I'm really trying not to sound like a bitch here. I adore being married, but it's not the sum of my parts.

Honestly, I thought I'd punch the next person who asked me 'So, how's married life?'

I think because it just seemed such a LAZY question. I'm sure you don't really care about the answer, and the answer is that IT'S NO DIFFERENT SHITHEAD. What on EARTH would you like me to answer that question with?! I got married over a year ago, so the question has now expired, and guess what question comes next? Babies. Yeah, get in line for a punch.

What I'm trying to say is that just because I've walked down the aisle with the boy, that's not the end of the road for Katie on her own. Just because we're married doesn't mean we're joined at the hip at all times. PLEASE don't get me wrong, I love my husband to bits (but I'm NEVER going to call him 'hubby' - bleurgh!)

I don't need him to validate me as a person and I think that's healthy. I love being with him, but I love being me too and having things that I'm interested in. I recognise that what makes us stronger isn't necessarily sharing everything. As long as we have fun together and are happy, what does it matter? When you live together, it's important to make an effort and for things not to go stale. I will not be part of those divorce statistics that both of our parents so heavily contributed to (thanks 'rents).

The main thing is, he can't take any holiday until September and I might burst if I have to wait that long to go away. So, I either burst or go alone. And I don't feel like bursting right now...

I figure absence/absinthe makes the heart grow fonder, plus he can watch all the football he wants AND he gets to live in a tidy house for a while (I'm really messy). Then I'll get back, we'll go back to a messy house and relative domestic bliss.

By the way, I have no idea why I've used so many brackets in this blog post tonight, I must be feeling brackety. Read into that what you will.

Yours happily in marriage but refusing to conform to tradition,

Katie x

Kenya believe it?! Standby, I'm going to Kenya on my own...

One of the rare perks of working in travel is that I can put myself on standby for any flight belonging to one of the world’s biggest holiday providers (I’ll give you a clue, their logo is the red smiley face).

I’ve known that I can do this for the five years that I’ve worked in travel, but for some reason I’ve never got around to doing it. I know, I'm an IDIOT.

I guess it’s the uncertainty of not knowing if you’re going on holiday or not. There are many things to be uncertain about in life – going away shouldn’t be one of them in my opinion. So there’s always the chance that you won’t get a flight on standby because all those other greedy buggers have booked themselves a flight at full price and taken up all the seats. Christ. How SELFISH.

I'm making up for it now though! I’m biting the bullet and trying something new. I’m really pushing myself at the moment to stay out of my comfort zone.

It’s bad enough that I work full time and am restricted to being adventurous and keeping busy in my evening and weekends, I’m NOT going to be a couch potato in my spare time, there’s too much to and… you guessed it, life’s too short!

So, I’m going to try and fly to Kenya for one week in one weeks’ time to see my mate Alice. On my own. Yep, all by myself.

Yes, it’s a 7 hour flight and I’ll probably be tired, but I’d rather be tired in Kenya and meeting up with old friends than always wondering what it would have been like to go to Kenya for a week. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m happy to say that it’ll be my third trip to Kenya, it makes me so happy to say that.

I’ve got no idea what I’ll do when I get there. I’ve got a few options, but I’m not going to put pressure on myself and plan too much, I don’t have time for that. I’ve been learning Swahili because one of my goals is to speak another language at beginner level, and I’ve chosen Swahili because I love East Africa and plan to go back there again and again.

So please, keep everything crossed for me that I get a standby flight next Monday 2nd July and can try something completely new. I’m not scared, I’m excited.

The only thing I’m scared of is not wanting to come home and settle back again in to my ‘normal’ life, because that’s happened a few times so far in life, but I’ll get used to it. Or I’ll make another plan that involves travel and some form of stability so that I can see my husband and cat every now and again :)

Watching the sun go down in Zanzibar...

Zanzibaaaaaaaaar. What an amazing name for an island hey? England is so boring in comparison with its two dull syllables. Ing-Land. Zaaaaanziiiiiibaaaaaar. I think I’ve made my point. I’ll move on now.

I loved my time visiting Zanzibar, it’s a beautiful place. Mystifying and intriguing with lots of winding alleys in Stone Town, and the most stunning beaches I’ve ever seen at Nungwi *sigh*

Stone Town / Kendwa- both gorgeous in different ways!


But my God it was hot.

I’ve never been somewhere so hot and had to wear so many clothes. In Stone Town you have to cover up out of respect as it is a Muslim town. Phew. I think I had about sixteen outfit changes a day.

The ferry trip was the coolest part of the trip - temperature wise...

It’s fair to say I liked Stone Town a lot more after the sun had done its business, taken his hat off and set for the day.

It’s a fairly common fact that the best place to go and watch the sun set in Stone Town is at the Africa House Hotel. I’m not going to dispute that, in fact I’ll endorse it further and INSIST that you watch the sun set there.

If you approach the hotel from the main roads through Stone Town, you have no idea what to expect, all you do is enter through a door, just as you do with most buildings.

You climb the cool, grand, dark stairway, blinded after the bright sunlight of outside… you head along a corridor and are hit in the face with the most beautiful scenery.

It’s just the sea, stretching out for miles. All the way to the horizon to be precise.

The Africa House Hotel knows when it’s on to a good thing, they’re not daft. They’ve got the biggest terrace looking out to sea with amazing regal sofas to stretch out on (get there early – around 5pm – to avoid disappointment!) combine this with waiter service and hazy afternoon sun and it’s just bliss.

The maxi-dress convention was fun!

I can totally see why cats like stretching out in a comfy sunny spot now.

Rather than a saucer of milk, I opted for a Tusker beer. It’s a Kenyan beer and you’re in Zanzibar, off Tanzania’s coast, but I don’t much care for the local beer of Kilimanjaro. Yeah, I said it, so what? Back off.

Anywhere where was I? Oh yes, here:

A photo of someone taking a photo! Artsy!

I’d advise you to bring a deck of cards along with you if you’ve got there early to bag a sofa. You probably have 2.5hours until the sun sets… if not, then take someone along for either an amicable silence or animated chitchat, it’s your call.

You’ll know it’s close to sunset time when a flotilla of dhows heads back to shore, what a sight!

OK so that's not a flotilla, but I was busy drinking chatting

Then the temperature drops maybe half a centigrade, the sky turns orange and the sun starts to drop steadily towards the sea like someone is out there pulling it downwards.

It’s ridiculously captivating, even though it happens every day all by itself and is the most natural thing in the world, you can’t help but stare in wonder at the sun setting.

Then all of a sudden, with a cold beer in your hand, you watch as the sun gets swallowed bit by bit into the sea – plop! The sky is a wonderful mixture of colours as the last remaining dhows sail back to shore, it’s almost too perfect. I get suspicious and look around me for hidden cameras, just like on The Truman Show.

Happy as Larry with wine...

Why do we insist on living in England when there are places in the world like this?! Would we just get used to the beauty around us if our everyday lives involved this?

I don’t know, but I think I’d be happy to give it a try!

Zanzibar, you're perfect just the way you are, I'll be back soon. 

The ABCs of Travel!

This is a game of blog-tag going around on Twitter, but (sob) nobody tagged me (sob) It's ok, I'll be fine. I'm starting my own tag game instead! Yeah!

On a long car journey from Leeds - Bristol with the rain lashing down on the windscreen and sitting in a traffic jam, I don't know if I was as positive as I could have been when writing this... but at least it made me want to get the hell out of this country! It was fun revisiting some old travel memories though...

I decided to rope Josh in to answer the questions as well. His answers are in italics and are exactly what he said word for word. I think they show a difference in 'interesting' angles from both of our travels so far and our relationship in general... they're also fairly blunt as he was driving at the time and doesn't really go in for stuff like this... :)

A: Age you went on your first international trip:

When I was 13 I went to Holland and that was my first time outside of the UK. We went on the ferry as my Dad was scared of flying. He made us little name tags to clip inside our coats in case we got lost. We looked like wartime evacuees.

2, I went to Gran Canaria with family

B: Best (foreign) beer you’ve had and where:

Definitely Tusker in Kenya

Heineken in Amsterdam

 
C: Cuisine (favorite):

Cyprus. I’d move there tomorrow for their halloumi, taramasalata, bread, olives, moussaka, kleftiko and the baklava. Oh God the baklava.

Steak in Barcelona

D: Destinations, favorite, least favorite and why:

Favourite: Kenya. I can’t wait to go back again. Why? The people, the optimism, the safaris, the beaches, the beer and the karaoke.

Least favourite: Hmm, maybe Amsterdam. Why? I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I went but I think there are better European destinations out there that are prettier and that won’t bankrupt you. Plus,
I’m not a pothead, so it was a little wasted on me.

I might see you again Amsterdam...

Best - I like every one of them for different reasons (cop out - Katie)

Worst - Blackpool! Bleurgh! The people, the tackiness, the fugly fuggers (words have been changed - Katie)

E: Event you experienced abroad that made you say “wow”:

Safari. Everyone should go on safari at least once in their life. To know that all you have to do all day is sit in a jeep and look out for amazing animals is pretty cool. My first one in Tsavo National Park was just indescribable. Our driver parked up, turned the engine off and a few minutes later a herd of elephants stomped right past us as we sat in silence watching, breathtaking. I love elephants.

Safari – the lodge we stayed in and listening to the sounds of the wildlife and seeing a baboon in the restaurant helping itself to the buffet.

Safari, so goody!

F: Favorite mode of transportation:

Choo choo! Trains, obviously. Wherever possible, I’d like to take the train. Yes it’s slower, but you see so much and it’s fairly cheap too. It’s more sociable than a bus or plane. We drank the bar dry on the train from Mombasa – Nairobi, the barman had to come and tell us to go to bed because we’d had every single beer on the whole train. Oops.

Flying. Quick, easy and nice views.

G: Greatest feeling while traveling:

Contentment. Too many people try too hard to be content while they’re away and sometimes it comes
from sitting down on the beach with a beer as the sun goes down. It doesn’t have to be difficult.

Don't know

H: Hottest place you’ve traveled to:

Mombasa, Kenya. Sheesh. The ATM machines are in little air conditioned rooms and I’d make any excuse to go check my balance, withdraw cash or just accompany people. In Mombasa you’d shower and already be sweating as you towel dried yourself.

Mombasa, building a chicken coop and pulling water from a well. Fugging hot (again, words have been changed.)

I: Incredible service you’ve experienced and where:

I’d probably say Mexico, but only because we were in a 5 star hotel there and thanks to the Americans having an extremely high expectation of service that I wasn’t expecting. I really miss having a turndown service, what an odd, but brilliant concept...

We trashed the place! Rock on!

Missoni Hotel in Edinburgh was great.

J: Journey that took the longest:

Mentally, the drive from the Serengeti to the Ngorogoro Crater because we were on a really noisy truck and the road was awful. It was so bumpy that you couldn’t hold your book, so loud that you couldn’t listen to music and your ass felt like you’d ridden a horse around the Grand National 15 times. All you could was sit there and grimace at each other and shout ‘”WHAT?!” at each other’s questions and conversations. Good times!

Physically, I flew to Honduras and took three different planes in succession on a journey that took 19 hours and then a lovely time difference of -8 hours to get used to as well. My remedy? A nice glass of red and a few sleeping pills. Yaaaaaaawn. Stretch. Hola Honduras!

Mombasa – Nairobi train. Long, but I enjoyed it!

K: Keepsake from your travels:

I like collecting shells from the beach and I’ve got a big jar at home that they all go into together.

Other than that, I bloody love fridge magnets, my fridge looks immense.

It's a work in progress ok?! Back off!

Nothing I’m not one for souvenirs. I leave it to Katie to collect the crap. (It's NOT crap Josh!)

L: Let-down sight, why and where:

Lake Nakuru, Kenya. I wanted to see the flamingos and they were too far away, just a pink blur on the horizon. God, I sound like SUCH a diva – bring the flamingos closer to ME!

Pink fuzzy nothingness...

Prestatyn, North Wales. There’s sod all there!

M: Moment where you fell in love with travel:

Painting a mural on a wall in Uganda, feeling totally content and in love with the world. Maybe I sniffed too many paint fumes…

As a child going to Spain with the family every year and having a laugh together.

N: Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in:

Excellence Playa Mujeres, Mexico. But then it should be, it was our honeymoon hotel!

Mexico – honeymoon hotel

O: Obsession—what are you obsessed with taking pictures of while traveling?

Oh Gawd. Everything. I think I spend too much time behind the camera sometimes... I always feel like I 'neeeeeed' to take photos, but I should probably just focus on enjoying the moment.

Nothing really, but scenery at a push.

P: Passport stamps, how many and from where?

8 I think. Uganda, Dominican Republic, Kenya x 2, Tanzania, Honduras, Zanzibar and Mexico

4 Dominican Republic, Mexico, Kenya, Florida,

Q: Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where:

Copan in Honduras. I love a bar that has swings instead of bar stools. That should be a law somewhere. Fab place with loads to see and do.

Isla Mujures with the golf buggies. Sculpture island and most Easterly part of Mexico. First place in
Mexico to see the sun rise.

R: Recommended sight, event or experience:

Safari. Anywhere in Africa that has animals preferably. You MUST do this once in your life!

Isla Mujeres in Mexico. (Spotting a pattern?!)

S: Splurge; something you have no problem forking over money for while traveling:

Hmmm, tough one. Depends where you are and who you're with. Sometimes I'd say food, sometimes I just need to eat to tick a box. I'd probably say bottled water from experience!

Food and drink, beer in particular

T: Touristy thing you’ve done:

Bought a safari hat to wear on safari. I've never felt whiter.

Eh! Mazungu! How are you?

London Eye, being a tourist in London, Buckingham Palace. (Oh my God we had the biggest argument halfway around the Eye as I wanted to ask someone to take our photo and he didn't want to look like a tourist... BUT WE ARE TOURISTS, DEAR!)

U: Unforgettable travel memory:

Gah! This is tough! I'd probably agree with The Boy there, the elephants in Tsavo National Park in Momabsa were pretty surreal. They walked right past our truck and we just sat in complete silence taking it all in.

Safari! The herd of elephants walking past us.

V: Visas, how many and for where?

Kenya x 2, Uganda, Tanzania, Dominican Republic, Honduras

Kenya, Dominican Republic

W: Wine, best glass of wine while traveling and where?

Does Sangria count? That has wine in it right?

Can’t remember if the wine was good – it’s all a bit hazy…

X: eXcellent view and from where?:

Safari lodge

Yep, safari lodge (He asked what I had said, think he was getting bored by this point, I'm lucky to have got this far...)

Y: Years spent traveling?:

Consecutive? 0

0

Z: Zealous sports fans and where?:

Barcelona, going to the Nou Camp stadium was amazing and I'm not a football fan in any way. With the amount of seats in that stadium and the price of the tickets, you'd be better off watching it on the TV (told you I'm not a fan...)

Kenya, only 4 teams exist in the their minds – Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal – although I bet they know Man City now (Blank look from Katie...)

@RacheyRoo183, @laura_mc89, @Granniebanana, @journeyingjess, @BananeDavies  You're it! (If you haven't already done this... :)

One Year Ago

This time last year I was growing into my new title of 'Mrs. Baxter' (I sound like such a dinnerlady don't I?) Trying to get used to not being a Mossman anymore... that sucked. Could be worse though, I could have married a Mr. Sidebottom or a Mr. Butt.

I still had a 'honeymoon in Mexico' tan, which is kind of like a normal tan but pastier, blotchier and with a sexy bandage tan line on my shin from having a mole removed.

I was looking forward to starting a new career in Marketing and saying goodbye to a four year stint in Customer Support.

I was about to turn 27. 27 on July 27th (made me smile anyway!)

I was about to go to Africa and then Amsterdam.

One year whizzes by, don't let it pass you by y'all.

That is all. Saturday night musings, now it's time for wine.

Love,

Mrs. BAXTER x x
Souplady.

African Toilets: Part two!

Let's get straight down to business eh? Did you already read part one of this African toilets blog?

The Eco Toilet My second favourite of the bunch, mainly because there’s some magical ingredient in these eco-toilets that means they don’t stink to high heaven. I think it’s compost or something but they’re a round wooden cabin with a toilet right in the middle of the room with a proper seat and everything! It’s a long drop mind you, so hold on to anything you don’t want to drop down there. Marvel at the depth of the long drop if you like, it’s your throne.

The Petrol Station Toilet Oh God. Stuff some toilet paper up your nose, make your peace with God and get it done as quickly as possible. They’re mostly awful but the staff are very friendly! If you’ve seen the movie ‘trainspotting’ you’ll be able to picture what I mean.

The Safari Park Toilet Interesting is probably the word I’ll use to sum these up. A wooden building in the middle of nowhere that usually has a zebra hanging around outside. Or a buffalo. Buffalo are NOT friendly so walk very calmly back to the truck and don’t scream like a girl. Listen out for the flies down the long drop, that’ll make you hurry up and do your business.

That zebra was first in line to be fair.

The Flushing Toilet – Hurrah! The Mecca of toilets in Africa! If you’re in a group of people, you’ll open the door and shout ‘it’s got a seat!’ and then ‘IT’S GOT A FLUSH!’ you’ve arrived. My tip? Make the most of this golden opportunity. Take a magazine in and catch up on some you-time.

The Public Cubicle No One’s Using Is normally a 101 – sit tight, there’s probably a Western style toilet behind the other doors…

My final tip. Have a head torch handy as the toilets can be dark and whilst sometimes ignorance can be bliss, I need to see where I’m treading if there’s a toilet built in to the floor...

The Different Types of Toilets You’ll Find in Africa

During my exciting trips to Africa so far, I've stumbled across so many different types of toilets there. You're never quite sure what lurtks behind that cublicle door. Hopefully this blog will lessen the surprise and help you learn how to deal with them if you are lucky enough to encounter any...

Serengeti... baby.

For obvious reasons I haven't included photos with this blog, but stay tuned for part two later as there are more toilet types coming! I didn't want to overload you with them all at once...

The authentic African toilet – 'the squatter'

The first time you walk into a squat toilet you’re like ‘hey, where’s the loo at?’ then you look down and your heart sinks. Shite. OK here we go. The first time you use a squat toilet, it’s inevitable you’ll probably end up peeing on your shoes ladies. Guys, there’s no excuse I’m afraid.

If you feel more comfortable taking everything off from the waist down, go with it. Make it your own. After a few times, you’ll get the hang of it, a few months later you should have the thighs of a baby giraffe so stick with it. These toilets are NOT fun if you have Typhoid or any kind of dickytummybug. They’ll make you howl with homesickness.

The 101

These are like the squats but a more up to date version. Slightly. They’re called 101s because there are actual footholes with grips either side of the hole, so from above it looks like ‘101’. Nothing more technical I promise. Not only will your thighs thank you in a few months’ time, but you also get the ‘pleasure’ of seeing your ‘waste’ right there in the bowl under you if you dare look down. You get a nice hose to wash everything away – see ya!

To put a positive spin on it, I actually felt very in tune with my body using these for a while as you kind of see how healthy everything is or isn’t (I won’t go into more detail than that I think…)

The flushing 101

An even more up to date version of the squat, it’s just like a real toilet but not. It’s a 101 with a magical invention – the flush! You can weep with relief at seeing a flush! Have the toilet paper nearby, you don’t want to get in to a situation where you have to reach and lose your balance… 

The Pig Pen

Literally my lowest moment in life so far. On the bus back to Kampala in Uganda, the bus pulled in to a petrol station and the driver signalled that we had ten minutes to do our business (i.e. pee and buy crisps) then back on the bus.

I followed everyone else around the back of the petrol station and the women seemed to be using what looked like an open pig pen with a drain in the middle to pee in. Hmm. Ok. They had lovely long skirts on, I had shorts on. What’s more, a lot of these women seemed quite interested in what a Westerners ass looked like and were openly staring without shame. Oh my shame. I REALLY had to pee and it was one of those moments that make you want to book a package holiday but when a girl’s gotta go, she’s gotta go.

The roadside bush toilet

Probably my favourite of the bunch, you know where you stand with this. Get off the vehicle, find a bush, pray to God there’s nothing lurking behind it and do your stuff. This works until you need the toilet in the middle of Serengeti…

Part two is right here, ready to learn even more?

What a perfect weekend in Edinburgh looks like... on a budget

I'm mixing up a recipe for the perfect weekend in Edinburgh, I hope you like it...

Day 1: Arrival by train at Waverley Station:

Ideally the weather is cold but sunny, wrapping up warm with lots of cosy layers with zero chance of rain... but that's never going to happen so I'll accept it.

Book yourself in at the Missoni Hotel just off the Royal Mile and a stone's throw from the castle. Book in on a lucky 50% discount before staff can realise their error and whip it out of reach. Be Smug.

Spend a few minutes jumping on the bed, eating the hotel biscuits and packing the hotel toiletries safely away in your case so housekeeping replenish them. Check TV has MTV.

Head out on to the Royal Mile and step in to the Scottish sun. Underestimate Scottish wind and run back to hotel for emergency layers. Wander up the Royal Mile to the castle but don't bother going in due to extortionate entry fee and lack of desire for castle tour.

Go down the steep steps to Grassmarket and meander through the crowds taking in the sights and don't forget to look up at the beautiful buildings. Head along to Cowgate and gaze up at the bridges above you (watch out for the pigeons). Stop at the Three Sisters where you spent your Hen Do last year...

Now you're in for a steep climb (if you're not going downhill in Ed. you're going up) and stop halfway up Blair Street at The City Cafe for a retro milkshake or a bloody lovely hot chocolate that won't break the bank. Take note of this place as you're coming back for breakfast tomorrow.

Head back along the Royal Mile and explore the city and its winding alleys and tall, thin, mystifying buildings. Soak up the history and imagine what this place was like in all its stinking glory a few hundred years ago.

Eat dinner at Hanam's Turkish Restaurant (traditional Scottish grub not so much) because it's a BYO restaurant and you're on a budget. Head to Finnegan's Wake Irish Bar (traditional not so much again, but they did have bagpipes on the wall and they served Tennant's) for some serious fiddely dee jiggly jigs until closing time. Stumble in to Missoni Hotel and prove your occupancy because you don't look the type to drink there. Have one for the frog and toad. Go to bed. Jump on the bed, dance to MTV, eat minibar snacks.

Day 2: Banging headache and trying to fit Mission dressing gown in wheeley case.
Shit. I ate all the minibar snacks.

Look out window and see sunshine over Arthur's Seat. You're liking my view, no?

It's time to head to the City Cafe for a tip top breakfast, complete with haggis. Read the Sunday papers and generally do all you can to delay the Arthur's Seat climb and to get rid of those pesky stomping elephants in your brain. Somebody rinsed my brain with white wine last night! Must be the altitude.

Plod down the Royal Mile once more with less zest than yesterday. Walk past the Scottsh Parliament buildings with a confused look on your face - what's with all the wooden sticks? - and stop at the ice cream van at the bottom of the hill.

*I love how you can be right in the middle of Edinburgh one moment and then high up above the city after half an hour of serious climbing*

With Arthur's Seat ticked off your list, get yourself to a pub pronto. Might I suggest Deacon Brodie's Tavern right opposite the Missoni Hotel? Drink a half of Tennant's. Then another.

Cross the bridge in to the New Town and take a seat in the sun at Centotre and get yourself another hot chocolate, this one you need a spoon to eat it with :) oh yes!

After your hot beverage, explore the New Town and do some serious window shopping. Maybe buy a postcard if you need to buy something.

So you see, I got to know the city without having to spend crazy amounts of money on the tourist attractions. Camera Obscura? Take a hike. Edinburgh Castle? Admired from afar. Edinburgh Dungeons? The only thing that scares me about you is your prices...

I can't wait to head back again, I love you, Edinburgh.